


Unseen Reality

by Sum1TheTeddy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-07-22 23:30:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20000272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sum1TheTeddy/pseuds/Sum1TheTeddy
Summary: Stephen saw fourteen million six hundred and five realities and they only won one. But when the one consistency in those millions of possibilities changes, Stephen is struggling to grasp the new reality and what it may bring about.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I.e i change the ending of Infinity war and Endgame because I refuse to let go of Tony Stark

The battle on Titan had been brutal. The near success gave them a hope that was unnecessary because he always knew they would've been unsuccessful and it just crushed everyone else's spirit more when they failed. And now all he could do was wait for the inevitable. His death. Their death. He was sat down as he looked over their strange and impromptu team up. Mantis was helping Drax while the others were discussing of their loss and what to do now. No one paid him any attention and Stephen was honestly okay with that. He didn't want to be noticed. He couldn't bare to face them anyway. And that was when it started. 

From the way Thanos had thrown him, his lower spine had been hit against a jarred piece of metal and his lower body was numb from the shock. He couldn't move for the time being. He was almost completely drained of energy from the fight and using the time stone moments before. But he had almost a perfect view over the team. So he just watched Tony's heartbreak and felt his own crack as the kid cried about not wanting to go. Now it was his turn. He waited for a couple of moments but nothing ever happened. The guardians too slowly disappeared. Only Tony and Nebula remained. And him.

The seconds trickled to minutes and it was only after a solid twenty minutes did the reality crash down on the Sorcerer Supreme. 

"Tony.." he called out softly and the engineer turned to him. He immediately felt a pang of guilt when he saw the haunted eyes of a grieving parent. He didn't want to add to the others misery but he had to say something. Anything. "I'm sorry.." 

The empty eyes suddenly flashed with anger, making the brown in the iris turn burgundy with the reflection of the red dust and stones.

"Sorry..?" The voice was stone cold but his volume didn't raise. He could hear the disappointment. It hurt more. Why did it even hurt? "Why did you do that? If you had kept it hidden away then this wouldn't have happened." 

Stephen stared at him helplessly, "He would've found it either way Anthony. I'm sorry. There was no other way."

There was a moment of silence between them. The atmosphere was tense and Stephen could see Nebula besides Tony, her hands wrapped around him in an awkward sort of comforting way. The silence was broken when Tony asked a quiet but way too optimistic question.

"No other way? Does that mean this is the one? The timeline that works?"   
The hope in Tony's voice made him flinch.

"I don't know."   
The phrase was way too simple but it explained their situation completely. The gauntlet had chosen an entirely different reality from what he had seen from the Eye of Agamoto. He felt a flash of emotions at the thought. Hurt. Betrayal. Used. All because of a relic. At the end of it, all he felt was painstakingly numb. They lost. Even the one possibility was completely lost. He had failed. But failure wasn't what had made Stephen so miserable and helpless but it was that he had no idea what the future held and how to fix it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The immediate events following the snap. Some Stephen and Tony bonding

Tony Stark always had a back up plan. Always. Either it be throwing nuke into a wormhole or an off switch on a being made from his AI and a magic stone incase he turned evil. He constantly learned from his mistake and tried to correct them. He may seem cynical at most times,but he always held hope close to his heart. A little flicker of optimism in every situation. It's how he kept himself alive in most situations. Optimism. But as he fixed the giant engine of the spaceship that belonged to the Guardians with the limited tools he had, he felt no hope, no optimism.

How could he? Ever since the whole incident, the sorcerer had completely shut down.

_"I don't know."_

_Tony felt another flash of rage course through his veins._

_"You." Tony got up from besides the pile of ashes, "You don't know!?" He yelled, approaching Stephen quickly who just stared at him blankly, "You don't fucking know!? You saw 14 million alternatives and you don't know!?"_

"Tony.."

_"Don't Tony me,Strange! You said you'd let me die!"_

_Stephen flinched at that but he made no move to answer. Nebula pulled Tony back seeing as this was going to be much bigger issue, "There's no use yelling at him. I'm sure what he did was out of necessity. Right now we need to go back to Earth. Gather what force we have, steal the gauntlet and try to reverse the whole thing.” She reasoned, glancing at the Sorcerer Supreme, suggesting the portal. Tony felt hope lighten his heart as he saw Stephen stand up, his hands moving in a circular motion. His heart got crushed again when he saw the look on the sorcerer’s face._

_“Strange.. Why is nothing happening? Where’s your sparks? Hey-” He cut himself off when Stephen fell to his knees, looking at his hands in horror, "Shut up Stark. Shut up!" The calm and composed demeanor of the doctor from earlier was gone.. He could only watch as the only person that could help him get out of the desolate planet, weaved signs on his fingers and tried to write sigils in the air to no avail. Nothing was happening._

_"Strange..?"_

_"I can't feel it. I can't feel the universe's energy or my own or yours or.."_

_Tony, never in his life, had seen anyone so desperate as Stephen when he pulled the cloak off his back. The cloak, which had been standing tall and floating around from the last time Tony had seen it in action, was now lying limp in Stephen's shaking arms, and the reality of what happened to the sorcerer hit Tony's head like a huge moon that had been thrown at him. The sorcerer had lost his magic._

When Nebula had questioned him further, Stephen had retreated back, apologizing and saying that he could do nothing more to help– that he didn't know what had happened to him, and Tony had to physically stop the alien girl from interrogating the sorcerer more. He looked distant and was silent, curled up inside the spaceship. The robe was still motionless in his hands except for the slight tremor that came from his own hands. Tony didn't disturb him or asked him to help, seeing how it looked like Stephen had lost everything and that was his way of dealing with it. He too was at a loss, but everyone deals with loss differently. Tony did it by distracting himself with work, and for him now, that was the spaceship.

When he was finally done with the engine, Tony gave Nebula the go, and the ship was moving against the gravity of the Titan. Soon they were, once more, in empty space, heading towards Earth. There wasn't nearly enough food for all three of them till they reached Earth, but Tony didn't think of that. He didn't want to think of Earth and the state of mess it was in. He didn't want to think of Pepper and Rhodey, his best friends waiting for him to come back, or how the kid's aunt was waiting for him. He didn't want to. Instead, he went around the ship with Nebula, leaving Stephen in the main control room and tried to fix every malfunction and stray piece until he was tired enough to collapse, and God bless her, the kid. She herself had lost all her teammates and was obviously struggling but helped him out, keeping up with his banter with odd looks, questions and small huffs. 

When they entered the main hub, to his surprise, Stephen was up and had opened a medical kit. He was shuffling around with it. He glanced up at them nervously before clearing his throat. “Both of you are injured, and if you don't mind, I'd like to check on your wounds. I'm still a doctor, after all." 

Tony understood where he was getting from so he nodded. “Yeah doc. I have a stab wound that is being compressed solely by nanobots." He mumbled, taking off his shirt before flopping down on one of the chairs. Nebula just looked at the two in confusion, but didn’t voice it. "I have a cut on my left hand and that's it. I’ll be fine. Just hand me that bandage," she said with a shrug, taking a seat at the front to take control of the ship after catching the bandage and antiseptic liquid Stehen threw at her.

Stephen then drew his attention back to Tony, who gave him a smirk as the doctor drew his attention to the still gaping wound which now, without the nanobot, was bleeding again. Stephen quickly cleaned the wound and took a long breath before starting to stitch. It was wonky and honestly one of his worst work, but there wasn't a big hole on the side of the engineer's torso and he considered that a success.

“This is like the beginning of a very cliche romance movie," Tony mused. "A hot doctor taking care of an injured damsel in distress, and the damsel falls in love with the caring and kind doctor.” 

Stephen shook his head. “You are no damsel in distress, Tony, and you know that," he mumbled, now taking care of the minor injuries all over him. “And I'm not really kind or caring."

"Says the person who's tenderly cleaning my wounds."

"You know I can rip those stitches and leave you to die?"

"But you won't, because you care."

"No, It's because of my Hippocratic oath."

"Sure doc. And I'll keep your crush on me a secret if you want." 

"Are you always this annoying?"

"Yes." 

Stephen rolled his eyes, but the small smile and the relaxed posture of the doc didn't go unnoticed by Tony, and it made him smile in accomplishment as his remaining injuries got cleaned and bandaged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos and a comment if you liked it!  
> The next chapter will have the journey back home with some sweet sweet bonding.


	3. Northern Downpour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen and Tony finally talk it out and Nebula finally finds herself cared for.

“ Fair game. Good sport.” Tony said offering his hand for Nebula who shook it, “Have fun?”

“It was fun.” Nebula replied with a small nod. At the exact time the door opened and in stepped Stephen.

"Are you two playing paper football?" He asked, sliding into the chair besides Nebula, passing her a packet of food and doing the same to Tony.

"I won." Nebula said with the tiniest hint of a smile as she ate the frozen,astronaut food. They were getting to the end of their stocked food which they had been rationing and they were nowhere near home. But Stephen didn't think of that, instead he smiled back at Nebula,

"Most winners get a prize. Here." He said passing her half the portion of his food . Nebula took it carefully,

"You sure?" She asked looking at him with concern. Stephen waved his hand dismissively, 

"Of course. I'm not really hungry and I work the least among you two." 

Nebula nodded and got up, grabbing her food, 

"Thank you. I think I'm going to retire for today." She said before disappearing into the control room while Stephen and Tony got left behind. 

"Good job on lifting her spirits." Stephen said getting up from the chair, stretching slightly. 

"She doesn't need that much food you know? She can basically control her systems so she needs less nutrition and oxygen. You need it more than her." Tony explained as he took in the sorcerer's hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. He had moved to the floor, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

"I know. But she looks happy doesn't she?" 

"She does."

"Then it's okay." 

"This will not undo what happened you know?" 

"I know Anthony. But this isn't about me. It's not about me trying to undo what I did wrong. I don't think that's possible. I'm just trying to make the best of what we have." 

"We don't have anything! We're going to di-"

"Anthony please." Stephen finally opened his eyes, looking up sadly. "I know you're upset with me but you have to understand, I would've laid my life out for the stone if I knew this would turn out this way. This isn't what I saw."

Tony was fuming, old anger overcoming him, "What exactly did you see then? All of us frolicking on Earth!?" He asked his voice raising.

**“** I was supposed to die there. It’s the variable that changed."

"Wha-"

"In that one singular possibility where we won, I needed to willingly give up the stone and it would then take my life. That was how it was supposed to go, Anthony. And I'm sorry that it didn't go that way. I promise, if I could then I would go back and give up my life before I even think about giving up the stone if i knew this would be the outcome. But I can't. I'm sorry." 

And with that, Tony felt his anger for the sorcerer dissipate. Not completely but he couldn't blame the other when he had been ready to die. He could hear the regret and see the hurt in Strange's eyes. He sighed and sat across Stephen, crossing his legs to mirror the sorcerer.

"I found this old thing and it has some pretty nice songs." Tony mumbled after a few minutes of awkward silence as he pulled out what Nebula told had been Quill's zune. He put one of the buds in Stephen’s ear and one in his and pressed play, playing a familiar thrum of guitar that Tony couldn’t place where he knew from. Stephen must have seen his searching face, 

“Northern Downpour. Panic! At The Disco.  _ Pretty. Odd _ . 2008.” He said with a small smile.

“Impressive. Are you just really into music or is this coincidentally the only song you know so well?”

“When I was a practicing surgeon, me and my colleagues used to play music in the OT and it became a sort of a game where i would guess the song that they played. Then slowly it just stuck to me.” 

“So you’re just super smart in music?”

Stephen chuckled, “You could say that.” With that, silence settled over them, the music pouring over them. They were leaning towards each other and Tony scooted together until their knees were touching so the cord wasn’t stretched too much. Stephen had closed his eyes and Tony couldn’t help but admire the other. The moment felt oddly intimate but Tony didn't care. They were already dying. He might as well die making someone feel better. 

"Thank you." Tony said slowly reaching out to hold Stephen’s hands when he opened his eyes in confusion. But he pulled back when he saw Toy reaching out. His hand fell on Stephen’s legs and he pat them awkwardly, "Thank you for trying your best in New York and then on the spaceship, then once again on the Titan. And honestly thank you for all you've done on this spaceship. I’m sorry you lost your magic. I know we probably won’t survive this and it’s a shame we won’t. I think I’d quite enjoy your company. And I forgive you. You tried your best and sadly sometimes things don’t always work out as we intended.”

Stephen looked down at his hand and nodded slowly, taking in Tony’s words, remembering similar ones from his mother when he was fourteen, when Donna had passed away. He closed his eyes once again so the other couldn’t see his tear filled eyes and whispered hoarsely, his voice choked up. “Thank you.”

Tony didn’t say anything. And that’s how they spent a couple of hours, letting music fill the empty and sad atmosphere until the zune reached at the end of it’s playlist with “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera Stephen finally told him to go to bed and Tony agreed, leaving the other alone with the zune with the haunting tune playing in his head. 

Two days later, Nebula found Stephen passed out in the control room with the cloak draped around him. He had been the one to refuse food and was the most weakened from their loss of magic so it wasn't a surprise that he was the first to lose conscience. When Nebula noticed him, she tucked him properly before going to check on Tony, who was curled up half hazardously on the floor with the Ironman helmet, asleep. She picked the engineer up and placed him besides Stephen so that the cloak was covering them both. She looked at them and walked away dejected, knowing there was nothing to save them. And the pain she had been been carrying only grew heavier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long and is so short. I cant promise that the other chapter will be longer but i will try to upload more frequently!   
> Kudos and comments is encouraging!
> 
> Also i have decided to name each chapter after a song and i will upload a playlist for this Fanfic in the next chapter which will be updated with each chapter i upload!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this chapter is rather short but it's the basic premise of the story. Hope you guys enjoyed this. Kudos and comments are always appreciated.


End file.
